Android 4.1 Coming to Verizon Galaxy S III

Verizon Wireless announced yesterday that their Samsung Galaxy S III will receive the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update starting today. As posted on the network’s official blog:

Samsung Galaxy S III is the latest Verizon Wireless smartphone to be upgraded to Android 4.1, Jelly Bean. The software upgrade, which will be pushed to customers in phase starting December 14, also makes the smartphone Global Ready. Customers who would like to manually download the upgrade through the settings menu will be able to within the next week.

Prior to this, the latest Android mobile operating system was already rolled to most smartphones in Europe by October. Sprints also started releasing the update last October, followed by T-Mobile in mid-November. Moreover, AT&T launched the Jelly Bean through PC-based software update earlier this month. Verizon is the last US carrier to provide Android 4.1 to its subscribers.

Android Jelly Bean on Samsung Galaxy S III

With the Android 4.1 update being delivered over the air, Verizon noted that the upgrade provides features such as Google Now for missed calls and email notifications, as well as enhanced camera capabilities.

The Jelly Bean also enables the Galaxy S III to turn into a mobile wallet with the help of Isis network. Isis, which is situated in Salt Lake City and Austin, Texas, relies on Near Field Communication. With this, users can now make payments wirelessly at various retailers.

Other than that, Jelly Bean offers better voice command capabilities. It also makes the handset global-ready, allowing customers to add an international roaming plan to use the phone on GSM areas.

Users can manually download Android’s latest version next week at Verizon through the settings menu. However, the update will be released, that’s why some users may have to exercise patience before they see the latest Android OS on the smartphone.

The Android Upgrade Alliance

The staggered release of Android OS to mobile phones is due to some technical reviews conducted by US carriers. All US carriers first review the OS upgrade before releasing it to users. It usually takes varying amounts of time, depending on the technical requirements and other factors of each telecommunications company.

In relation to this, Android users have been especially concerned about the latency of the upgrade. Thus, Google tried to address this issue over a year ago by forging the Android Upgrade Alliance to carriers and manufacturers.